Alumni

Alumni

Remember the time you bumped into some travelers at a roadside stop in Austria who turned out to be fellow Penn Staters? Or the couple next door who graduated the same year as you? If you took a new job in a new city, and sat down on your first day one cubicle away from a girl from your freshman-year dorm room, The Penn Stater magazine wants to hear from you. The Penn Stater wants your best stories of impossible coincidences, improbable run-ins and unlikely meetings with fellow Penn Staters. The best stories will be selected for publication in a future issue.

In the coming weeks, Penn State alumni will have the opportunity to determine their representation on two important University leadership entities -- the Penn State Board of Trustees and the Alumni Council of the Penn State Alumni Association. The Board of Trustees is the governing body of the University, charged with selecting the president, determining the major goals of the University and approving the budget, among many other duties. Each year, three new board members are elected by Penn State alumni, who will be receiving a ballot in the mail on or before April 8. The Alumni Council is the governing body of the Penn State Alumni Association, the largest dues-paying alumni organization in the nation. The 83-member council, along with its executive board, determines the goals and policies of the Alumni Association. Each year, 10 new council members are elected by Alumni Association members.

Parents and families unable to find hotel/motel accommodations in the State College/Centre County area for commencement weekend, May 13-15, at Penn State's University Park campus, can rent a residence hall room on campus. Visitors can reserve residence hall rooms starting April 1 by calling (800) 778-8006 or (814) 865-5770. Details and payment arrangements will be explained. Residence hall rooms will cost $49 per night for a single and $35 per person, per night for double occupancy. Linens are furnished. All rooms are non-smoking, and air conditioning is not available. Bathrooms are communal and gender-marked on each floor. The price includes a full breakfast.
Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/11184
For more information about Penn State's commencement ceremonies, visit http://commencement.psu.edu/

This spring the Alumni Association and alumni groups in the Philadelphia area are launching a new urban initiative called "City Lights." These alumni networking events have a Penn State connection and are designed to provide opportunities to meet other area alumni while also featuring interesting city venues.

As the nation celebrates Women's History Month, we are reminded of the role women have played in Penn State history and the important milestones reached over the years. We'd like to share with you some of these highlights, and we realize that our list is far from complete.

The Penn Stater magazine is more than just your average alumni magazine; it sets the national standard. The Penn Stater has garnered 50 awards in national competitions in the last five years--20 in this year alone.

Three Penn State alumni groups played host to a Thon fundraiser on Feb. 5 to benefit the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon and the Four Diamonds Fund. The Lion Ambassador Alumni Interest Group (LAAIG), the Thon Alumni Interest Group and the Metro Washington D.C. Chapter sponsored the event at the Bottom Line restaurant in Washington, D.C.

Featuring accommodations for approximately 6,000 spectators in its three-level design, preliminary plans for the new baseball park at Penn State's University Park campus were approved by the University's Board of Trustees Friday (March 18). The ballpark, which is being designed by the architectural firm of L. Robert Kimball and Associates of State College, will be the new home for the Penn State baseball team as well as a minor league baseball team to be acquired by the owners of the Altoona Curve franchise. The facility is scheduled to be ready for use by the minor league team in June 2006. Located near the intersection of Curtin and Porter Roads and adjacent to Beaver Stadium and the Bryce Jordan Center, the ballpark's preliminary designs call for three levels -- a concourse level, suite level and field level. Reinforcing an "athletic village"? concept, the designs for the new ballpark complement the nearby Bryce Jordan Center, Beaver Stadium and the Multisport Indoor Facility, with plans to feature brick, pre-cast, metal and glass in the construction. Field lights and a scoreboard will be integrated into that design.

Despite uncertainty about the future of state and federal funding for medical education, declining reimbursements from Medicaid, a national shortage of health-care workers and a need for physical space to support its growing education, research and patient-care missions, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is in on track to meet its budget goals for the current fiscal year. Darrell G. Kirch, senior vice president for health affairs, dean of Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Hershey Medical Center chief executive officer told the Penn State University Board of Trustees today (March 18) that the medical center has experienced substantial growth in patient volumes over the past year, showing a 1 percent increase in emergency room visits, a 6 percent increase in outpatient clinic visits, a 9 percent increase in hospital admissions, and an 18 percent increase in the number of surgical cases. During the month of February, the hospital occupancy rate for adult patients averaged 100 percent. The average occupancy rate for pediatric patients (patients under age 18) was 96 percent.

Nearly 450 Penn State student-athletes posted a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher, for a record-tying academic performance during the 2004 fall semester. For the most-recent semester, a record-tying 60 percent of the 728 young men and women who were members of Penn State's 29 varsity sports earned a GPA of 3.0 or above. A total of 440 student-athletes had a GPA of 3.0 or above, just two off the record of 442 from the 2003 fall semester, which represented 60 percent of all active student-athletes. Among the 440 student-athletes with a 3.0, a record 192 earned a 3.5 GPA or better to gain dean's list recognition. The 192 high-achievers represent a record 26.4 percent of Penn State's active student-athletes. The previous standards were 182 and 24.8 percent, also set in the 2003 fall semester. Dean's list students must complete a minimum of 12 credits in a semester. Twenty-three of Penn State's 29 varsity programs earned a team GPA of 3.0 or higher last semester. The cheerleaders and dance team also posted team GPAs of 3.0 or better.

Penn State President Graham B. Spanier met with members of the House Appropriations Committee March 1 to outline the University's budget needs for the 2005-06 fiscal year. The committee hearing was held today at the Capitol Building in Harrisburg, where Spanier discussed Penn State's position as the leading driver of economic impact in Pennsylvania and the rapidly rising costs faced by the University. In 2003, for every dollar of appropriation received by Penn State, the University returned $19.42 in total statewide economic impact and $1.56 in tax revenue to the commonwealth. For the 2005-06 fiscal year, the University is seeking a restoration of the funding level initially received four years ago in 2001-2002, which would be an increase of $17.6 million or 5.6 percent. This increase would be used to offset funding cuts received by Penn State between 2001 and 2004, and would support basic operating cost increases in major areas such as insurance, libraries and strategic initiatives that will allow the University to better serve students and the commonwealth.
Read the full text of Spanier's opening remarks to the appropriations committee at http://live.psu.edu/story/10575

It began in 1855; just 80 years after the United States became an independent nation. On Feb. 22 of that year, Pennsylvania Governor William Pollock signed a bill chartering The Farmers' High School as a baccalaureate institution, creating what is today The Pennsylvania State University. Governor Pollock's action not only laid the foundation for public higher education in Pennsylvania, but also created an institution of higher learning that was one of the first of its kind in the nation—an institution dedicated to teaching the scientific principles of farming and educating the working class.

Tanisha Wright (West Mifflin, Pa.) and Jennifer Harris (Harrisburg, Pa.) each scored 20 points and the No. 24 Penn State women's basketball team pulled away from Northwestern for an 83-56 win in front of 15,177 on Sunday (Feb. 20). The game was the Lady Lions' home season finale, and the win gave Penn State its second perfect home season in two years, as it finished the year 12-0 at the Bryce Jordan Center. Before the game the Lady Lions honored the five seniors who finished their four-year careers with 50 wins at home. The Lady Lions now head on the road to play No. 2/3 Ohio State on Feb. 27 with at least a share of the Big Ten regular season title on the line. The Lady Lions defeated the Buckeyes, 69-62, earlier this season in University Park.

The Penn State women's swimming and diving team wasn't a favorite heading into the Big Ten Championships this weekend, but the Nittany Lions put on one of the most dominating performances in recent history to win their second Big Ten Championship with 693 points. The Nittany Lions' point total was the most by any team in the Big Ten Championships since Michigan had 788.5 in 1998, and it was the most ever recorded by a Penn State team. Penn State, which is ranked No. 14 by the CSCAA, capped off a brilliant performance by breaking two more school records, and recording three more NCAA "A" cuts, including two in the 1,650-yard freestyle, where the Nittany Lions placed six of the top eight swimmers to put a stamp on its first conference championship since 2002. Penn State scored a total of 83 points out of a possible 155 in that one event alone.